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The review covers nearly 1,000 flights by Blagojevich, his family and guests. Using the governor's official schedule, it found dozens of trips with no obvious business event.
Because the Internal Revenue Service considers personal travel a taxable fringe benefit, such flights could be considered at least $225,000 in extra income to the governor. That could mean a $60,000 tax bill for Blagojevich.
And unless he amends his past tax returns and pays the sum, the state could be penalized for not reporting the travel, according to interviews with tax experts. That could cost more than $40,000, the AP review shows.
Blagojevich dismissed the report Thursday as "ludicrous, ludicrous, ludicrous, ridiculous," refusing to elaborate. Earlier this week, he called it "the most ridiculous thing ever written."
The issue has outraged taxpayers and lawmakers and revived the debate over whether Blagojevich, who kept his home in Chicago when he took office in 2003, has moved state government from Springfield.
"Go home and kiss your kids, hug your wife. But I don't have to pay for it," said Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat. "If he doesn't want to spend the night in Springfield, that's his decision. But when it comes to the tax decisions, he is evading taxes."
Blagojevich, a Democrat in his second term, has an office in Chicago and may travel there for business without repercussion. Otherwise, the travel is taxable, said Marianna Dyson, an employment tax and fringe benefits attorney with Miller & Chevalier in Washington.
"The capital is in Springfield, and he has made a personal decision to keep his family in Chicago," said Dyson, a former special assistant for fringe benefits with the IRS. "He has to live with that consequence."
Blagojevich aides said the AP has it backward: The governor's headquarters is in the Windy City, not the state capital, so he may fly tax-free to Springfield and back when business calls him there.
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 "We define the principal place of business as Chicago and all the flights are billed accordingly," spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said.
An IRS spokeswoman in Chicago declined comment.
The AP took records of Blagojevich's flights on state aircraft and compared them to his personal schedule, news releases and media accounts of his activities.
If there was any indication that he conducted state business -- signing legislation or marching in a parade, for instance
-- the trip was counted as official business.
The AP review was intentionally conservative and didn't include dozens of flights to other cities when Blagojevich returned to Chicago, even though he had nothing scheduled there and Springfield was closer.
The review also excluded most of the 300 flights by first lady Patricia Blagojevich and the couple's two young daughters, although the IRS allows tax-free family travel only when it has more than a minor business purpose.
The value of Blagojevich's use of the state planes was calculated by averaging the prices charged by two Illinois charter companies for the same type of aircraft, with a base rate of nearly $1,500 an hour.
Blagojevich has been criticized for years for not moving into the executive mansion in Springfield. Questions arose about his frequent Chicago travel as early as fall 2003.
In June, the AP reported he was making nearly daily round-trip flights between home and the capital. Last month, lawmakers hammered him for a flight to a Chicago Blackhawks hockey game during crucial legislative action.
[Associated
Press; By JOHN O'CONNOR]
Copyright 2007 The Associated
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